This is Home
by jazdia
Summary: Now 2 Songfics - definitely for the babes!  I couldn't get these songs out of my head.  Different Points of View of the same event.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This song wouldn't go out of my head until I wrote this. Thanks to Financebabe for being my beta for this story! Janet Evanovich owns the characters. Switchfoot owns the song. If you want to hear it, it is on youtube. This is for the Babes.

**This is Home**

_I've got my memories  
Always inside of me  
But I can't go back  
Back to how it was…_

As Carlos Manoso walked to the front of the church, images from his past kept flashing in his mind. Friends who never made it home. People he had killed. Memories he would always have, but also memories he would no longer let be obstacles in what happiness he could find in life.

_I believe you now  
I've come too far  
No I can't go back  
Back to how it was…_

The conversation he had last night with his best friend was also in the forefront of his mind. Part of him was panicking at the changes he was making in his life. He couldn't believe at how much his life had changed in the past year, when he finally accepted that he loved Stephanie Plum and needed her in his life. But, he also knew that he had changed from the man that he was when he first met her and he couldn't go back to how he had been.

_Created for a place I've never known…_

Looking out over the crowd, he couldn't believe how he was now part of "the Burg". He had lived in Newark and Miami and visited, officially and unofficially, many parts of the world, yet he had never found another place where he felt he needed to be.

_This is home  
Now I'm finally where I belong  
Where I Belong  
Yeah, this is home  
I've been searching for a place of my own  
Now I've found it  
Maybe this is home  
This is home_…

The bridal party came down the aisle. Stephanie's nieces, Mary Alice and Angie, were walking side by side with their flower baskets. Next came Connie, then Mary Lou, and then Lula in their bridesmaid dresses. But, when he caught Stephanie's eyes, he knew that he was where he belonged. She belonged to him and he belonged to her. She was his home.

_Belief over misery  
I've seen the enemy  
And I won't go back  
Back to how it was…_

He thought back to his main reason for not getting involved with Stephanie. He had made a lot of enemies over the years while working for the government and on his own. He had been afraid of his enemies finding him, getting revenge through Stephanie or other family members. He still had that fear in the back of his mind, but he couldn't go back to the emptiness that was in his life before he became involved with Stephanie. It helped that Stephanie took his fear seriously. She had agreed to train in self-defense and had accepted that she would have to keep a tracker on her at all times. Only when her father had accepted his tracker had the rest of her family accepted their new reality, with the understanding that the trackers would only be monitored in case of emergencies.

_And I got my heart set on what happens next  
I got my eyes wide it's not over yet  
We are miracles and we're not alone…  
_

After Frank gave Stephanie's hand to him, Carlos' smile widened. He was looking forward to the honeymoon, spending time alone with his Babe. But, he knew that the honeymoon was only the beginning of their lives together. Both of them were proof that miracles happened, after all the nearly fatal misses that each had experienced. And, they both believed that finding each other was the best miracle of all.

_And now after all my searching  
After all my questions  
I'm gonna call it home…_

He listened to the minister describing what marriage meant. He even held his breath when the minister asked if anyone questioned why he and Steph should be married. No one questioned their love for one another.

_I've got a brand new mindset  
I can finally see the sunset  
I'm gonna call it home  
_

"Now you may kiss the bride." Words he had been waiting for. Holding her in his arms as he kissed her was the perfect ending of his old life.

_Now I know  
Yeah, this is home  
I've come too far  
And I won't go back  
Yeah, this is home_

"May I present Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Manoso." His wife. His lover. His home.


	2. Chapter 2

Mama's Song

Author's Note: This is another short songfic that I needed to write, and I felt it belonged with "This is Home". Not great literature, but another sweet chapter/pov for a day I wish really happens. All of the characters belong to Janet Evanovich. The song is "Mamma's Song" by Carrie Underwood.

Valerie fluffed out her dress while she was waiting in the back of the church. Here she was, in another wedding, as a bridesmaid. She had been the bride twice so far in her life, even if she did skip the last church wedding to go to Disney World instead. She couldn't help but smile at the memory. She may have disappointed her mother, but she stood up for herself and Albert instead of having the wedding from hell. Their actual wedding had been a surprise that her sister had planned for her, and Valerie would always be grateful to Stephanie.

As she heard the organist start to play, she thought back to the conversation between Stephanie and their mother she had overheard just an hour before.

"_Momma, you taught me to do the right things  
So now you have to let your baby fly  
You've given me everything that I will need  
To make it through this crazy thing called life  
And I know you watched me grow up and only want what's best for me  
And I think I've found the answer to your prayers._

And he is good, so good  
And he treats your little girl like a real man should  
He is good, so good  
He makes promises he keeps  
No, he's never gonna leave  
So don't you worry about me  
Don't you worry about me

"

Valerie agreed with Steph. She was proud at the choices that her sister had taken, even when it seemed that her life was more than crazy, but dangerous. Steph had always been a little different, wanting to fly instead of make her life on the ground, like she had. And, she couldn't help but give a bitter snort at the memory of her first wedding and her own conversation with their mother.

"_Momma there's no way you'll ever lose me  
Given me away is not goodbye  
As you watch me walk down to my future  
I hope tears of joy are in your eyes_

Cause he is good, so good  
And he treats your little girl like a real man should  
He is good, so good  
He makes promises he keeps  
No, he's never gonna leave  
So don't you worry about me  
Don't you worry about me

."

She had been so wrong, but it had taken over 10 years before Steve's true character had shown. Steve had not been good. Stealing all of their money and escaping to the Bahamas with their babysitter was something she would have never suspected of him. Valerie gave herself a shake and was thankful for Albert. He loved her and all of her children. He was good to her and would never leave her. She smiled at him as she walked past him on her way to the altar.

Valerie looked over at her daughters, Angie, Mary Alice, and Lisa. They were all flower girls, standing at the bottom of the altar. She loved her daughters, and now knew that the Burg belief that just getting married was not enough for true happiness. She looked forward to the day when her daughters were married, but only when they found the right man. Just like Albert. Just like Stephanie waited for her Ranger.

_And when I watch my baby grow up  
I'll only want what's best for her  
And I hope she'll find the answer to my prayers  
And that she'll say_

He is good, so good  
And he treats your little girl like a real man should  
He is good, so good  
He makes promises he keeps  
No, he's never gonna leave  
So don't you worry about me  
Don't you worry about me  
Momma don't you worry about me  
Don't you worry about me.

Happy tears fell from her eyes as the minister said, "May I present Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Manoso."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Another chapter, seen from another point of view. Short and to the point, but, I hope still good.

"Tomorrow" by Chris Young

Joe's POV

Sitting on the back row of the church, Joe Morelli stared at the couple exchanging vows. He kept the smile plastered on his face, even squeezed the hand of his wife next to him. He had to keep up appearances, if only for her and the happy couple. But, at the back of his mind, all he wanted to do was replay the last night he spent with the bride almost a year ago.

_Tomorrow I'm gonna leave here.  
I'm gonna let you go and walk away like every day I said I would.  
And tomorrow, I'm gonna listen.  
To that voice of reason inside my head telling me that we're no good._

It was another day of near misses when he finally reached his limit. The car explosion. The stalker. Those were bad enough. But, this time, he reached Stephanie after Ranger did, and finally saw what others whispered about and he had suspected. He saw how she melted into Ranger's arms for support and the relief in his rival's face that she was safe. He noticed how they only had eyes for each other, as if the rest of the world had faded away. His first impulse was to get angry and grab at her, to take her away from Ranger and all of the danger she faced in her life. Instead, he took a deep breath and then slow steps towards her as his world crumbled away.

He nodded at Ranger and tapped Steph on her shoulder. When she turned to him, he could see that she was bracing herself for the lecture she was certain he was going to give her. He just embraced her instead, kissing her on the top of her curly hair. She looked up at him and whispered his name questioningly. He told her that he would see her that night at her apartment. She nodded and watched as he strode away.

He remembered the ultimatums he gave to her the last time he broke up with her. This time, he sat on her couch and refused to argue about his decision to break up for good. No more on-again or off-again.

_But tonight I'm gonna give in one last time.  
Rock you strong in these arms of mine.  
Forget all the regrets that are bound to follow.  
We're like fire and gasoline.  
I'm no good for you.  
You're no good for me.  
We only bring each other tears and sorrow.  
But tonight, I'm gonna love you like there's no tomorrow._

They made love that night. Not wild gorilla sex or any other of the joking comments he had made before. He showed how much he truly loved her and he could feel her love for him as well. But, when he looked into her eyes, he knew that she never looked at him the way she looked at Ranger. And she never would.

_Tomorrow I'll be stronger.  
I'm not gonna break down and call you up when my heart cries out for you.  
And tomorrow, you won't believe it,  
but when I pass your house,  
I won't stop no matter how bad I want to._

Throughout the next day, he had to stop himself from calling her. He drove by her apartment complex and had mixed feelings when he didn't see Ranger's Porsche in the parking lot. It was a month before he saw the Porsche in the parking lot as he drove by in the morning.

That was when he decided to find happiness for himself as well. He dated for several weeks until decided he could no longer be the playboy he had been in his youth and was happy with Robin, who was now his wife. She understood and loved him. They were married five months ago.

Baby when we're good, you know we're great.  
But there's too much bad for us to think, that there's anything worth trying to save.

No more arguments. No more Pepto Bismal. When he saw her at the station now, she was happy to see him. The invitation was a surprise, especially since it was delivered by the groom. "She wants you there," Ranger said to him. Joe nodded, discussed going with his wife of one month, and then rsvp'ed "yes".

_Tomorrow, I'm gonna leave here.  
I'm gonna let you go and walk away like every day I said I would._

After replaying their last night in his head, Joe realized he had many regrets about their relationship, but he knew he was right in breaking up with Stephanie for good when he heard the words, "You may now kiss your bride."


End file.
